[Management of patients with acute phase of stroke]

At the moment, the only treatment of proven efficacy in reducing mortality and improving evolution of patients with ischemic stroke is management of these patients by specialized personal, in specific units (stroke units) to provide an adequate and early program of general care, control of complications and rehabilitation. On the basis of physiopathological knowledge, other specific therapeutical agents are being investigated, following essentially two ways: 1) to provide early reperfussion of ischemic tissue by an adequate control of hemodinamics, use of antithrombotic agents and/or use of trombolytic agents, and 2) to inhibit the ischemia-reperfussion injury mediators (acidosis, cytoplasmic overload of calcium and excess of free radicals) using cytoprotectors. Probably, optimum results will be obtained only with an adequate combination of both reperfussion and cytoprotection.